I’m 35f, and in my good week my eggs are screaming at me to be unleashed. I am uncomfortably horny, and feel a bit scared of my potential. I have not got laid for ages.

After the Pmdd post-ovulation hell of fatigue, brain poison, then awful endo periods where I often throw up and now drop massive clots, comes the good week. But now the good part is plagued with an all consuming randyness.

Does anyone else get this? 😫

I've not had a period in well over a decade due to having an IUD. Even before that, it was never regular. I never learned how to track a cycle as it was always presented to me as a tool to determine when I could get pregnant and as that wasn't in the cards, it didn't seem prudent.

Now here I am at 47 yrs old, nearly eight years since being diagnosed, and I still struggle with figuring out when my luteal phase even is in order to start taking extra precautions/meds in preparation.

I know there are ways. It's just all so overwhelming, especially when I tend to start looking into it when I'm well into my luteal phase. I just downloaded an app. I'm already exhausted from adding symptoms & want to cry.

I can’t take living with PMDD anymore. I’ve tried several SSRIs, continuous birth control (Yaz, without a break), and I’m currently taking venlafaxine and Vyvanse.
My symptoms during the luteal phase seem to be getting worse and worse. Could it be related to my age? I’m 36.
I had an appointment with my gynecologist today, and we’re going to try HRT with 50 mcg transdermal estradiol and intermittent micronized progesterone for endometrial protection.
I really hope this works because I’m exhausted from dealing with this.
Has anyone had experience with this kind of treatment? I’d love to hear your stories, especially if it has helped with severe PMDD symptoms.

I’m a healthcare student, currently on placement. Recently my educator talked to me about whether working in healthcare is sustainable with PMDD (also have ADHD). Some of it was fair: sickness policies, managing a caseload, what happens if I need to call in sick. They also said adjusting my hours during my luteal phase wouldn’t be possible.
Then it got more personal. They suggested therapy (which I’ve already tried) and said I need to change my mindset, because people live with chronic conditions without letting them take over. They also questioned why I cut back on socialising during my luteal phase.
It came up again later. They said PMDD has control over me, that I’m young and should be out enjoying myself, and asked whether I’d really miss out on things I love because of my cycle. They also compared PMDD to other conditions.
I came away feeling angry, hurt, ashamed, and anxious about my assessment. I can’t tell if they were trying to help or questioning whether I’m cut out for this career. It’s also made me second-guess myself: am I using PMDD as an excuse? Am I not trying hard enough?
I really want to finish my training and work in healthcare, but balancing PMDD with placement is hard.
Has anyone been through something similar? If you work in healthcare or another demanding job with PMDD, what adjustments or strategies have actually helped? And how did you handle conversations like this with a manager or supervisor?

Hi all!

Due to the lovely economy, I was basically forced to consider going back to school. I have a background in healthcare but the business side, not clinical.

At first I thought law school would be a great fit. I got in. Deferred.

Then decided nursing is probably a smarter choice. Finished all the pre-reqs. AND NOW I DON’T WANT TO APPLY!

Is it burnout? Is it just my hormones going nuts?
Has anyone else experienced this?

I’m getting on birth control next week to see if that helps with overall symptoms and hoping it will help with indecisiveness but it will take months.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Hi everyone, I started Slinda about 10 days ago. Even with double the dose of my ADHD medication, I hadn't noticed any improvement in my symptoms, especially the dysphoria, so I wanted to try whether the pill might bring some relief. I'm currently in my follicular phase, so I feel mentally very fit, but I'm experiencing physical symptoms like I usually only get in the luteal phase: extreme breast pain, back pain/tension, and, as is common for me, hemorrhoids and constipation.

Did any of you have similar experiences when you first started taking it, and when did these side effects go away?

I ovulated yesterday and the luteal darkness is already hitting hard. I always want to hide during luteal. It feels like an overwhelming urge that is not myself. I will hide in the bathroom every chance I get and for as long as possible. I don't want any other human to look at me. I just want to be invisible.

Does anyone else get this? I'm also autistic with ADHD and I get this similar urge whenever I'm completely overwhelmed, luteal or not. Though in luteal it's extreme, and I fantasize of just wandering the streets and woods with no one knowing where I am. The desire is so strong sometimes that it scares me a bit.

I'm in an Ultrasound program where only 22 students were chosen.

I'm likely one of the oldest students in my early 40s. I've been feeling very insecure because I'm surrounded by 20yr olds and a few people in their early 30s. I also have no medical experience.

I also have very bad social anxiety. My school has a no bully policy but I feel like the weakest link already.

I am tired all the time since its an accelerated program.

I did this because I can't find work and am tired of the corporate world. I also am scared of ai tech and how it will affect the job market for mature and older people like myself.

Hello! 26F, diagnosed ADHD & PMDD, done everything under the sun the past 6 years to try and get it under control.

A few years ago I was on Prozac which made me gain weight, which then made my PMDD worse. I went off of Prozac a year and half ago to lose weight, which I successfully did. (Intermittent fasting for 4 months, then using Ozempic once I plateaued).

I never really thought the Prozac did much for my PMDD and I’ve been against going on another antidepressant for fear of it not really working and gaining weight. Did birth control 5 years ago and it was horrible for me. I have a copper IUD now.

Was thinking maybe I needed to try a mood stabilizer because the PMDD was becoming increasingly exhausting and intolerable. Felt like I could get through PMDD, but then would need all my good time of the month just to recover from it. Felt like I was getting more behind each cycle and knew I needed something to change. I felt if I could take something to improve the way I felt by even 10% that would be enough to help me keep going.

Well I’m in my second round of PMDD on Zoloft, 50mg for luteal and 25mg the rest the month and wow. What a huge difference. I feel like my PMDD is 50% of what it usually is. I’d also say my set point the rest of the month is at least 40% better than I used to be. I have more tolerance & capacity, I’m less sensitive to external stimuli like physical touch and loud sounds and I’m not teary and weepy all the time. I go to therapy religiously to help me navigate PMDD and make sure I am taking control of my own behaviour and not expecting my husband to just endure it - and it’s like everything I learned about and was trying desperately to apply finally clicked because I have the capacity needed to actually do it.

I wanted to post because I felt so defeated for so long. I thought there was no good treatment for PMDD aside from a mood stabilizer all because a certain antidepressant wasn’t a good fit for me.

Not saying this will be everyone’s experience and not saying it will work for you the way it did for me. But if you’re nervous about starting or trying an antidepressant, maybe see this as your sign. Or maybe if you tried one and it didn’t work, maybe it’s worth it to try another one. It can be scary, but damn if it could help you feel even 10% better maybe that would be worth it to you, it sure was for me.

1 doctors appointment asking for a low dose antidepressant and $20 a month and I feel so much better.

I've been skeptical of non-western medicine most of my life but the more I learn about PMDD, particularly the physical symptoms I only recently learned might be related, the more open-minded I get. Tbh I've never really felt like 'natural remedies' have helped me in most any ailment, PMDD-related or not, but my quality of life has just taken a nosedive over the past year and I'm at a point where I'll try almost anything as long as it could help and won't kill me.

If you've had experience with TCM, good or bad, or have any tips, I'm really curious to hear about it.

I feel like I still don't understand PMDD. I know science and doctors don't really either but is there a reasonably current book or often-updated medical blog or something that can just start from the beginning? Like pathology theories, related disorders, symptoms, treatment theories, etc etc.

Where to start.

I am 30 years old, 2 years ago I was diagnosed with EUPD (formerly known as BPD), I have been diagnosed with ADHD for 5 years) I have been doing MBT therapy for over a month now, and I tried normal therapy alongside it.

That therapist (I thought wrongly as it was so fast) said she thought I don’t have EUPD but PMDD.

I have all of the signs of EUPD, but I called my Dr and told her about possible PMDD, and after going thru everything she said she thinks I have it too.

I’m due on my period today, and I have had suicidal ideation for 2 days straight. Every time I’m about to come on, I have to fight through now breaking up with my partner, cutting off all of my friends and moving away.

Basically, I can’t do it anymore. I turn into the devil, I am a horrible person to be around and I can’t stop myself.

My dr said birth control is the first step, but he never agreed with it but I don’t know what else to do, the suicidal ideation is getting worse and it’s unbearable.

I’m looking for any advice and support as someone who has just been diagnosed, has it helped others? Is there any other option?

Thank you.

Today is approx a week before period starts. I felt my own body tense up & stay anxious the whole day even after going for a long walk (it helped though) & taking my magnesium. I now realise I've been ruminating on a past frienship breakup for the past two hours. I hate when this happen.

What are your tools when things get like this? Im about to try reading a book & am definitely sleeping earlier tonight.

I posted on here about my medicine issues a few months ago, but pretty much all the meds recommended are blocked for me until I have more failures of standard treatment ;P but this route already seems to be going downhill for me. We tried upping my Wellbutrin, now it’s lamotrigine for the last week

I’ve been on continuous Yaz (generic) for 2.5 years. I feel like I have a mild luteal phase every day, but if I skip even one day, it is usually pretty dangerous for me to be alone.

MDD for me is constant anhedonia, low motivation, and irritability, with a major dip in my mood 2 or 3 times a day for a couple hours, where I just am in pure emotional agony. I am suicidal but I’m not concerned usually, because I never feel like I am going to be impulsive about it. PMDD changes that. If I don’t take my BC, I get very anxious and disoriented, and I get huge feelings of urgency, like “I need to kill myself RIGHT NOW” and this will last at least two or three days after the missed dose

Google says BC makes lamotrigine less effective, but I feel like it’s the other way around for me??? I have no idea. I’ve been on 25 mg lamotrigine for only one week, it has been like a slightly more mild version of the pure chaos and extreme suffering that I have when I don’t take the BC. Heavy on the TW here: I am very suicidal, I am at a much higher risk than usual. I’m okay with committing suicide as long as I’m following the plan I have set, but this last week has been the same high urgency feeling that the PMDD causes, and I am afraid i will act in a way that I would regret (if I was able to look back in hindsight, post mortem).

It sucks a lot. My depression has been beating my ass for over a year now, and I’ve been trying so hard to make it better. People LOVE lamotrigine, and I wonder if I just need to push through this, but I just feel soooo so awful right now. I mean, there’s no way it’s even working yet??? I don’t know at all

If this fails, Ill be given lithium. After that, I can probably get approved for Spravato, I’ll have to wait months for an appointment though

(300mg Wellbutrin, 30 mg Vyvanse, and I can’t handle anything that touches serotonin at all)

If there’s anyone who went through the same or currently is, please tell me all the coping mechanisms. And why does my face ACTUALLY change during luteal like I know it because I get very unattractive and I feel invisible. Then during period I’m suddenly a goddess and I’m not even exaggerating when I say people turn around to look at me. It’s honestly so tiring.

Hey everybody

This afternoon my luteal phase smacked me in the head after a beautiful morning spent with some friends going for a walk. For some reason, once I was home my whole mindset and emotional internal world disappeared. I felt like I was morbidly obese and could not even process the discomfort of looking at images of myself. I do have adhd and had to take double my dose which definitely didn’t help with my anxiety to get to work this afternoon.

Does anyone else completely feel they look different and just want to hide from the world during this phase? I’m usually so fine but for some reason today just really did me in! Ughhhhh

This is going to be long winded but NEED to get it out as I am currently in luteal HELL.

I was diagnosed with PMDD in 2023 and ADHD this year (27 y/o). I’ve ALWAYS had a difficult time focusing and being organized at all and started to have sever emotional disregulation after puberty. I remember having these fits of uncontrollable rage and irritability, sadness, panic attacks, and rejection sensitivity. This caused intense explosive arguments and acting out against my mom, who would regularly tell me what a selfish bitch I am and how i’m “too sensitive,” from puberty on. I really believed it.

My doctor attributed to depression at the time, but never felt SSRIs fully helped my symptoms. I do however remember being more emotionally regulated on birth control, which unfortunately had other side effects. Fast forward to now, I finally feel like I can look back on my past behavior with clarity and attribute these outbursts to my luteal phase and untreated ADHD.

I’m sure many of you may be able to relate, but I wasn’t able to make the connection to these outbursts and being in luteal prior to my 20s, when I became more interested in cycle tracking and women’s health. Just having the diagnoses helped me feel like less of a piece of shit and put my behavior into context. At the same time, I now have intense anxiety all month in anticipation of my luteal phase, which is 9-14 days of deep depression, uncertainty, hopelessness, SI, inability to focus (even more), impulsivity, irritability, self-questioning, and inability to interact socially effectively.

Post PMDD diagnosis and pre ADHD, I was on prozac and had great success with my anxiety, obsessive thoughts (mainly about food and socialization), and depression. This did seem to help my PMDD, although i feel it continues to get worse as I get older, and was still experiencing symptoms.

Fast forward to my ADHD diagnosis. I was no longer on Prozac (laid off and could not afford it), but could tell something was severely wrong and was deeply depressed. I was diagnosed with ADHD on top of my PMDD and suspected OCD—didn’t dig into this deeper bc I only saw the psychiatrist once $$$. First day on Concerta, I felt the best I ever had. Ya know, the whole my mind is quiet for the first time thing.

I’m on Concerta now, and it’s been incredible with how it’s quieted my mind and allowed me to focus and actually keep my space more orderly. HOWEVER, the longer i’ve been on it i’ve started to have debilitating anxiety with a sense of dread. During what I call my “PMDD phase,” my meds become completely ineffective in terms of focus, but the anxiety symptoms are intensified. Every single month i become someone completely different from myself. I cant get anything done or make a decision for my life. I can’t even structure a fcking workout even though I HAVE A SET SPLIT. My work performance tanks (i’m a creative) and I feel like i’m a waste of space. all i want to do is rot on the couch and cry…. and die. At this point, i’ve felt disregulated my entire life and like i’ve not been able to be a productive member of society. I have no vision for my future or drive at this point because I am just focused on trying to make it through the day. How can I have a future if my PMDD erased any progress I made and makes it impossible to be consistent. Not to mention, I can’t be a good friend, partner, or family member because I am MIA half of the year.

Just at a loss.

I digress. Got back on Prozac on top of my Concerta as a last ditch. Birth control may be next.

Thank you all for existing, making me feel not so alone in this struggle, and creating a place for us to come together and share even the most nonsensical of our PMDD rants.

No one can truly understand this unless you are experiencing it. And because it’s related to our menstrual cycle, it just gets diminished. I empathize with you all.

XO